People in Catalonia are turning their backs on independence from Spain while a new option involving increased powers for the region is gaining ground, a recent poll shows.

The independence debate in Catalonia is no longer simply about whether the region should or should't remain part of Spain, the poll published in Spain's El País newspaper shows.

Pollsters spoke to 1,000 people in the region in north-east Spain which has strong regional traditions, including a distinct language and culture, to hear their views on independence.

Catalonia has vowed on numerous occasions to press ahead with plans to hold a self-determination referendum.

But the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has insisted that a referendum in Catalonia — a wealthy region home to about 7.5 million of Spain's 47 million people — would be unconstitutional.

The new poll found that if people were offered a straight choice in a hypothetical vote between independence for Catalonia and remaining in Spain, 46 percent would vote to become a separate country.

That is marginally down from the 49 percent who would have done likewise in September.

But the poll also found that when people are offered a third choice in the form of a Catalonia within Spain with greater powers and autonomy, the number of pro-independence voters drops to less than one in three people.

Specifically, with three options on the table — independence, remaining within Spain and a region with greater powers — the number of people who would vote for independence is 31 percent while the number who would choose the status quo is 17 percent.

El País newspaper said the support for this third option was a reflection of the fact Catalans were "profoundly discontented" with both the anti-independence attitude of Spain's central government in Madrid and the leadership of Catalan President Artur Mas.